Spirit of '76

Spirit of '76 may refer to:

The Spirit of '76 (1917 film)

The Spirit of '76 (1917) was a controversial silent film that depicted both factual and fictional events during the American Revolutionary War. The film was directed by Frank Montgomery and produced and written by Robert Goldstein. Goldstein would later go to Federal prison for violating the Espionage Act, because of scenes depicted in the film. No prints of the movie have been known to survive, and it is categorized as a lost film.

Synopsis

A romance between King George III of England and a Quaker girl, Catherine, who becomes his morganatic wife, forms the early part of the story. Catherine is really half Indian, being the daughter of a French adventurer and an Indian woman, adopted and brought to England by a Quaker voyager. The hardships of the American colonists are shown and their rebellion against the English rule. In this rebellion, Catherine sees a chance to avenge herself upon the King, who has legally married a German princess. She goes to America and becomes a power over a tribe of Indians. One of her aids is her own brother, who had been adopted by a colonist. Brother and sister are unaware of the relationship until the close of the story. The gallant fight which the Americans under General Washington wage against the English troops and the Indians under Catherine's lead, form a thrilling phase of the story and the chief incidents with which every American is familiar are dramatically set forth. In addition, there are several minor plots and romances, some of which end happily, others tragically, when the war is over and the fight for freedom won.

Spirit of '76 (Marvel Comics)

The Spirit of '76 (real name William Naslund) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Robbins as part of a World War II-era superhero team, the Crusaders, and patterned on the DC Comics group the Freedom Fighters, the character first appeared in The Invaders #14 (March 1977). The Spirit of '76 was the equivalent of Freedom Fighters member Uncle Sam, originally a Quality Comics character. In the stories, the character briefly assumed the role of Captain America after the original – Steve Rogers – was presumed dead. However, he was killed in action.

Publication history

Marvel's Spirit of '76 appeared as a member of the short-lived superhero team the Crusaders in The Invaders #14–15 (March–April 1977). In a canonical portion of a story in issue #4 (Aug. 1977) of the alternative universe series What If?, Naslund succeeds Steve Rogers as Captain America, the first of three official replacements until Rogers resumed the role years later. This retcon became necessary after Marvel's conflicting accounts of Captain America in 1950s and 1960s comics had created a discrepancy.